Support For Renewables ‘Still High’

Support for renewable energy sources remains high among the general population, the latest survey of public opinion shows.

The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which was created in a merger of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, has continued to carry out the regular surveys started by the DECC in 2012.

In its ‘Wave 19’ report, it noted that support for renewable energy remains high, with 79% of those questioned supporting the use of renewable energy sources.

Solar energy is supported by 82% of respondents, while offshore wind and tidal energy garner support of 75%. However, support for nuclear energy has been gradually declining, with just 33% of people in favour of this energy source in the latest report, a fall from 36% in the previous study.

Meanwhile, support for shale gas – which is extracted using a process known as fracking – dropped to 17%, with 33% of those surveyed opposing it and 48% taking a neutral stance.

Earlier this month, a report commissioned by WWF Scotland, Friends of the Earth Scotland and RSPB Scotland and based on independent analysis by Ricardo Energy and Environment, stated that sourcing 50% of Scotland’s power from renewable sources by 2030 was “achievable”.

The report made a number of recommendations on how this target could be reached, including introducing a Warm Homes Act to ensure two-fifths of the country’s households are heated by renewable energy.